The Situation in Nepal: A Need for Help

More than two weeks after the 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Nepal, and following a second earthquake of 7.3 magnitude, the situation in Nepal is still dire for children and families.

Before the disaster, Nepal was one of the least developed counties in the world. Over half of the population live under the international poverty line at $1.25 US dollars per day, and unemployment is high at 46%. Many heads of families are forced to travel abroad for work and to support their loved ones. 

What’s left of families in Kathmandu have taken refuge in the temporary relief camps all over the city. They are too afraid to go back to their damaged homes after the earthquake. Here, more than 70% of buildings have collapsed or are so damaged that they are on the verge of collapse. Shelters are usually overcrowded, and food and water is in limited supply.

Older children are often must care for their younger siblings in the relief camps, as their fathers and mothers must go out to look for water and food, which is extremely scarce after the earthquake.

Some of the children at the overcrowded relief camps in Kathmandu are wearing masks for health protection. The relief camps are threatened by epidemics due to the overcrowding, lack of sanitation facilities, and lack of clean drinking water. Children are the most vulnerable to such diseases, and children are the ones most vulnerable in this earthquake.

Half the population, 14 million people, are under the age of 23.  Around 34 per cent of children between the ages of five and 14 are forced to work. These children can be found working as domestic workers, in commercial sexual exploitation or in stone quarrying. With the situation in Nepal leaving children without homes, parents, schools or ways get by, children in Nepal’s need for help has increased.

In four emergency relief camps and 14 child care spaces, SOS Children’s Villages is able to provide secure relief in the form of child care, food, clean water, and first aid for families. In the long term, SOS aims to provide ways for these families to reunite and be strengthened through new Social Centres and programs.

Click here to make a donation to support the relief efforts in Nepal.